Lord Weirlane (The Four Lords' Saga Book 2) Read online

  It was wonderful...but she didn't understand. It was without her permission. How can I make this right? She’ll never believe I didn’t plan this. She will never trust me again.

  Crispin tried to sleep but couldn’t. He kept thinking of the night he had just spent with Cat and realized he wouldn't mind waking up to her beautiful face every morning. He flushed as his body responded to his thoughts of lust, not love for he didn't love Cat as he would a wife. A friend, but not as a wife. Reasoning with himself that many arranged marriages didn't even have friendship as a basis, he concluded the only way he could begin to correct matters was to offer for her, and he determined to speak with her father as soon as the house party ended.

  With that decision, he slept for a couple of hours before arising when someone scratched softly on his door.

  Damien came into the bedchamber with a big smile and asked how Crispin was feeling.

  “Terrible. I’ve only gotten a couple of hours of sleep.”

  “It was that spectacular a night? Surely sleep was not the main attraction,” replied his friend with a leer and waggling his eyebrows.

  “What do you mean, Damien?” The hairs on the Duke of Weirlane’s neck rose, and an empty feeling that wasn’t hunger was felt in his belly.

  With a wink, Lord Underwood slyly spoke, “I gave you and the pretty lady a boost to help your romance along a little faster than it was moving.”

  Crispin didn’t hesitate. He grabbed Damien by the throat, slammed him into the door, and hissed at him. “What did you do?”

  His friend squeaked out that he had done nothing wrong.

  More forcefully, Crispin demanded, “What…did…you…do?” and tightened his grip on Damien’s throat.

  Damien began gurgling and turning red in the face before Crispin loosened his hold somewhat. After all, he wanted to find out what happened, and then he would kill him.

  “You know my friend, the apothecary.”

  Crispin nodded.

  “He’s a very smart fellow. Because Spanish Fly is rather dangerous to use as an aphrodisiac, he developed a formula using herbs that would be similar in results without killing the user like Fly might.”

  Crispin closed his eyes and tightened his grip on the smaller man’s throat, terrified of what he would say next. To his horror, Lord Underwood confirmed what Crispin had suspected. He had been drugged.

  “You were so protective of that pretty little Lady Catherine, following her around like a lovesick puppy. You didn’t let any of us fellas have a chance at bedding her, and I, well I…”

  “Well, what?” Crispin snarled at him.

  “So, I thought I would see just how good my friend’s formula worked by giving it to you and to her and finding out what would happen.”

  With that, Crispin nearly choked him to death, then he gave him a facer resulting in blood spurting and Damien’s nose being broken. As Crispin stood over him to hit him again, Damien cringed and raised his arm to protect himself. The duke grabbed him by his cravat and pulled him close. With rage in his eyes and murder in his heart, Crispin informed him that what he did caused an innocent to be ruined, and he had half a mind to call him out and show no mercy.

  “But Crisp, why was an innocent at a house party such as this?”

  “Because her father is the lowest dastard on the planet. Why do you think I’ve hovered over her and protected her from you rakehells for the past two days?” Then, he threw Damien to the floor, turned his back to him and growled, “Get out, and if you ever even dare to speak to me again, mention to anyone about what you did, or say anything about Lady Catherine, I will call you out, and I will kill you no matter the consequences. Do…you…understand?”

  “Yes…yes, I understand, and I will not say a word. I promise.” On that note, Damien fled Crisp’s bedchamber.

  Crispin sat on his bed and buried his face in his hands for about a half hour. He had ruined his childhood friend and there was no turning back. What should he do now?

  ***

  Upon breaking his fast, however, he discovered Catherine Benton had left the house party. His hostess informed him she had become ill and returned home. He couldn't follow her—or leave also without someone thinking he followed her—but he could visit her home the coming weekend when the house party reached its finish. Will her father accept my offer? I am a duke, and he is greedy. He should...But will Catherine accept my hand? How will I ever make this tragedy up to her?

  Chapter III

  As Crispin finished telling of the incident at the house party, all four men were silent. He was totally immersed in misery, and his three friends were at a loss as to what to say to him. Finally, Matt spoke up. “For Catherine’s sake, you must offer for her. After what’s been done, she will need someone who truly cares for her.” He paused, “And that seems to be you,” he said as he tilted his head and looked sideways at the duke.

  “Of course, I care about her,” Crispin blustered, “but I don’t love her. It won’t be a love match. I like her very much, but only as a friend.” The most interesting aspect of his statement was that he even wondered if it was accurate.

  “You keep telling yourself that, and maybe one day it’ll be true.” Matt chuckled softly. He suspected Crisp might have loved the girl since they were children because of the way he had always protected her—and especially at the house party—and his friend had been very foolish to live the way he had for the past few years. Windmere also wondered if the duke had ever seriously thought about offering for her before now.

  He was unaware the man had thought to sow his wild oats and then offer for Catherine when ready to start his nursery. The duke was a fool.

  “Well, if you don’t love her, you lose the bet if you marry her,” piped up Jules with a grin.

  “Shut your mouth, Jil.” Fox slammed down his chair from the two legs he had been balancing on. “Circumstances are such that the bet doesn’t even enter into this. And, if it does, the terms of the bet need to be modified. I’m willing to give any one of us, who has to marry— such as Crisp—the opportunity to eventually make it into a love match. In other words, if a marriage of convenience is to protect the wife, time should be allowed to see if it will turn into a love match before the husband is declared the loser of the bet. Fair’s fair, I say.”

  “I fear the wager is not the problem, Fox. Catherine will probably refuse to marry me. She won’t under the circumstances no matter what her father says.”

  His voice firmed. “But she must marry me. Her father will throw her out of the house with no place to go if I know that scoundrel. I can’t let that happen to her.”

  Matt was puzzled and wanted to know why she wouldn’t consider marrying him. “You are a duke, wealthy as sin, young, healthy, and handsome. Any woman in her right mind would marry you without question.”

  Embarrassment caused the duke to flush as he said, “None of that will matter to Catherine. She’s always been able to trust me, but now our trust has been broken. And I’ve given her every reason in the world not to renew it.”

  “Make her see reason, Crisp. She must marry you as it’s the only way she’ll have any type of protection. And if you got her with child… You need to wed her…and soon.”

  When Fox intimated he might have impregnated Catherine, Crispin went white. He’d taken her three times, and the odds she wasn’t with child were rather low as he had taken no steps to prevent it. Crispin bowed his head and looked as if he had been blue-deviled all his life.

  Crispin received another emotional blow when Jules asked, “Have you spoken to the duchess about this?”

  “No…I haven’t gotten up enough nerve to see my mother as yet. She loves Catherine and, down through the years, she has mentioned several times she wished Cat was one of the family. She’s never been subtle with her hints. And she’ll never forgive me for doing this to Catherine, no matter why.”

  Again, Matt was the voice of reason. Very quietly, he said, “Your Grace, if your mother loves Catherine a
s you say she does, she will be more than willing to help you convince her of what is best. Your mother, as I recall, is a very intelligent woman and should be a great help to you. Don’t ignore her assistance.”

  With his eyes closed and a look of resignation on his face, the Duke of Weirlane simply nodded. Then he stood, thanked his friends, and walked out of White’s. A short time later, he braced himself to go see his mother and confess what he had done.

  ***

  The Duke of Weirlane inquired of his mother’s butler as to her whereabouts upon reaching her townhouse. The intimidating servant informed the duke that the duchess was in her private parlor, whereupon, he was thanked and told they were not to be disturbed.

  Crispin’s mother looked up as her son entered the room, and she frowned and wondered what was wrong. Usually, he came into her presence with a smile and enthusiasm for life. Today…he just looked sad.

  “Crispin, are you well?”

  “No, Mother, things are not well.”

  Patting the sofa, she said softly, “Sit beside me and tell me what’s wrong.”

  Crispin sat and wondered what he should tell her. He would have to apprise her about offering for Cat. But could he tell her why? She would want to know, and as the Duchess of Weirlane, she had a right to be informed as well.

  “I’m going to see the earl and ask for Lady Catherine’s hand in marriage.”

  His mother smiled and started to say it was an occasion to celebrate as she had always loved Catherine Benton, but she noted that he didn’t smile. He just looked at the floor and wouldn’t meet her eyes. Something was very wrong.

  “Crispin, do you have something to say to me?”

  He met her eyes then, and the bleak expression of sadness broke his mother’s heart. Whatever the problem, it was dreadful.

  The duchess—being a patient woman— sat quietly as her son got up and paced the floor clenching his fists at his side. She remembered that as a child he would always tell her in his good time. Ten minutes came and went without a word. Then he sat at her side again and took her hand.

  “Mama, I’ve done something terrible.”

  And she knew things were bad because he always called her Mother as an adult, never Mama since he’d been a child. She couldn’t help closing her eyes, but she opened her heart to help her son.

  “I’m listening.”

  Crispin then told her everything that had happened at the house party and what he had done to Cat. And they both wept for Catherine Benton’s loss.

  The duke had finally gotten on his knees and laid his head on his mother’s lap as he had as a little boy, and she stroked his hair. Then with a sigh, she said, “You will marry Catherine. No one else will have her as she is ruined. If her father marries her off, her husband will bring a scandal to both our families since she is no longer a virgin.”

  If Crispin was a little shocked at his mother’s language, he gave no sign of it. With his eyes closed, he just nodded.

  She continued on, “Catherine’s mother trained her well. She will make you an excellent duchess. And she has turned into a lovely young woman. I daresay you don’t mind that.”

  Crispin stood and took his place in the chair across from the duchess—elbows on his thighs, and his chin resting on his hands—unnerved somewhat by the perspicacity of his mother’s mind. The glare she gave him caused him to squirm in response. Then to his embarrassment, he began to blush when his mother asked him how passionate was his wife-to-be?

  “Mother, I’m shocked you would ask such a question.”

  In a stern voice, with her hands fisted in her lap, his mother said, “Don’t be, Crispin. With your reputation, I can just guess at what you would be willing to put up with in a wife. I don’t want Catherine abandoned by a husband who doesn’t want her, and I figure that being very passionate would be first on your list.”

  For once in his life, the duke found himself shocked speechless. However, he couldn’t control the flush that spread from his neck to his forehead as his mother nodded in understanding.

  “I see she meets your criteria in that area, and if I’m not mistaken, she fits it more than adequately. I am pleased she will be your wife and the new duchess.” She paused, then proceeded more quietly, “Her mother and I were closer than sisters, and it gives me great pleasure her daughter will be one of the family. When do you approach her father?”

  “Tomorrow, if he is at home. I wanted to speak with you first.”

  “Will you offer for Catherine before you speak with him?”

  “No…I surmise she will refuse me if I do.” His head hung low, and he clasped both hands together. “Her father will not and will insist we wed. The earl will not deny having a duke in the family.”

  “No, I suspect he will not,” she commented with a twist to her mouth. “Gossip has it, he is planning to remarry and probably will not want his only child underfoot while he tries again for a male heir…But why will she refuse you?”

  “She feels I betrayed her and our friendship.” He sighed, reliving his pain, and closed his eyes. “And I did, though not wittingly…I came very close to killing Damien for what he’d done. I did warn him if he ever breathed a word of what he did or what happened, I would call him out and would shoot to kill no matter the consequences.”

  “Well, you better hope your friend,” his mother sneered, “doesn’t say anything. All the more reason, to not delay marrying Catherine. You protected her as a child. Now you get to protect her as a husband. It’s time to grow up, Crispin.”

  Dismay showed on his face, then he nodded in agreement. It was time to put childish behavior behind him and quit playing games with people’s lives.

  “Crispin, when I married your father, it was not a love match. In time, I learned to love him and all the fine qualities he had and his concern for others’ welfare. Catherine has many fine qualities. See that you pay attention to them, and you can learn to love her as well…It is time for the Duke of Weirlane to take up his responsibility, Your Grace.” She spat the title at him.

  With that last comment, she arose from the sofa, executed a deep curtsey to him, and exited the room with her head held high and her son’s jaw hanging open.

  Chapter IV

  The third day after speaking with his mother and having his solicitor draw up marriage settlement papers, Crispin headed toward his estate—Weirlane Keep—that bordered the Benton property. Catherine’s father was the Earl of Compton, a greedy, grasping individual who always looked to increase his wealth. However, he was not a very wise man, so he could only claim moderate wealth but hoped to increase it substantially by essentially selling Catherine to the highest bidder.

  Upon first speaking to Compton, Crispin had been told that two of the libertines from Lady Meriweather’s house party had already approached him: one had offered £5000 and the other £10,000. Compton had hesitated because the highest bidder was in trade and could do nothing to improve the earl’s status in society.

  Showing himself as truly the Duke of Weirlane, he had showed up and offered £30,000, which was promptly accepted. Crispin didn’t bother telling Compton the money would go to Catherine, not him.

  Without telling the earl the settlement papers had already been drawn up, the duke arranged to meet with him again in two days. Crispin hoped by that time he would have gotten up enough nerve to even speak to Catherine. If she never spoke to him again, he wouldn’t be surprised. She needed to know, though, that marrying him was the best thing for them both. Convincing her, however, might be nigh on impossible.

  ***

  As soon as the duke left, Compton ordered his daughter to his study. He was in a good mood for two reasons: Weirlane would pay him £30,000 for Catherine, and she would be out of his life permanently in a fortnight. He actually had a smile on his face rather than a scowl when she came through the door. Hesitantly, she approached his desk.

  “Sit down, Catherine. I have some good news for you.”

  Catherine sat on the edge of the
chair with misgivings concerning any news her father would have for her.

  “Catherine, the Duke of Weirlane has asked for your hand in marriage, and I have assented.”

  “Father, I don’t want to marry the duke.”

  His smile vanished in an instant as he barked out, “And why, pray tell, would you not want to marry him?”

  Loathe to tell him that her reason for not marrying Crispin was because he had seduced her, Catherine hesitated then said, “I—I…he doesn’t love me.” She flushed and looked down at her hands in her lap, unable to face her father.

  He laughed derisively and said, “Love? You must be bamming me. Where does love enter in when you could marry a duke with the power that Weirlane has?” With a snarl, he continued, “You, stupid chit. You will marry Weirlane. I am remarrying in a matter of days, and she and I both want you out of here for good. Your insipid mother only had the ability to breed dead babes and you.”

  He spat the last at her, and she blanched as she realized the father she had tried to love hated her, and something inside of her broke. Losing her mother two years ago had put her under a tremendous strain of trying to please her father and run his household. She now knew for certain that all her efforts were for naught. Her father would give her no peace until she agreed to marry Crispin, and she would acquiesce as she usually did in order to keep him assuaged.

  Catherine was also unaware her father thought he was selling her to the duke for a large amount of money and would never let her refuse the powerful peer. But, no matter. She knew her father. Once he pursued a goal, he never stopped until he attained it. And if it concerned her, she knew he would hound her until she said ‘yes.’ After what happened at the house party, she had no fight left in her, so she gave up the struggle.